Abdulmajid Sharafi›s Life and Thought

Abdulmajid Sharafi is a newly emerging figure in intellectualism in Tunisia, and perhaps one of the most influential people in this field because what he left behind is not just books and articles or even new perspectives, but some well-educated students who followed his path and propagated his ideas. Hence, Sharafi›s views, like many other intellectuals›, are not exclusive to some individual theories in his books, but have become a vibrant and dynamic flow that everyday has  a new book or theory to show off. The following paper is the translation of a paper on Abdulmajid Sharafi published in New Islamic Thought: A Critical Approach which was compiled under the supervision of Bassām al-Jamal and printed by the institute of Mu›minoon bilā Hodood. The first volume of the collection, titled New Religious Thought introduces the most prominent intellectuals and their ideas with regard to religious thought, and contains 11 articles fromvarious authors. At the beginning of this paper, the author briefly talks about Sharafi›s biography, books, and their contents. Then, he outlines the most important manifestations of Sharafi›s modernism, such as modernism in method and modernism in the themes. Following this, he mentions the criticisms which were levelled at his views. Finally, heis going to name some of the most important books and articles which were written about Sharafii.